USDA Senior Agricultural Attaché Justina Torry toured primary schools and a teacher training college during her February visit to the Food for Knowledge Project in Mozambique.
"I am always happy to visit the project and to witness its progress," Torry said. "I am especially impressed by the dedication and motivation of the project staff and all those implementing it, including the teachers, the trainers, and the children I have met in the primary schools."
The Food for knowledge project is a multi-faceted 3.5-year initiative implemented under a partnership with Planet Aid, the USDA McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program, the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health, ADPP Mozambique, and the government of Mozambique. The program provides daily school meals for 65,000 children in the Maputo province, trains teachers to work in rural primary schools, educates the community about proper nutrition, establishes school gardens, and builds or restores school sanitation and kitchen facilities.
Numbers from the midterm evaluation show that the Food for Knowledge project has already increased student attentiveness and reduced dropout rates.
"Mozambique has a lot of potential," Torry says. "This is also why the project is of such importance here. The future of each country lies in its children - the ability to nourish and educate them. Combining the available resources, education and food, Mozambique can take full advantage of this potential."
Click here to learn more about the Food For Knowledge Project.
